Photo of individual tissue sampling units (TSUs) provided by Neogen GeneSeek.
IBBA CONNECTION // DNA TESTING
Understanding DNA Parentage Verification by IBBA Member Relations Specialist Macee Prause It is important for producers to understand the basics of DNA testing, especially DNA parent verification. DNA testing provides the producer with valuable information through scientifically-proven testing methods. The more information producers have about their cattle, especially the genetic makeup of their cattle, the more knowledge they are able to apply when making selection decisions for their herd. Parentage testing, using DNA technology, can be advantageous in a variety of situations including multi-sire breeding pastures, artificial insemination (AI) versus clean-up bull situations, embryo transfers (ET), potential parents which are close relatives, calves switched at birth, and ambiguous birthdates. DNA parent verification is both a valuable tool for seedstock
12
// APRIL 2018
breeders and commercial producers as it ensures the pedigree information is accurate for calves. Moreover, it offers information for management decisions in a commercial herd. “At this point, since we single sire, we use DNA parentage in situations in which a calf is born after an AI date and before a pasture exposure,” states Joy Reznicek of Town Creek Farm. “Parentage verification is 100 percent accurate in exclusion of incorrect sires. For us, knowing for certain that we are providing our customer with correct pedigrees is our number one priority.” The basis behind DNA parentage is the fact that each animal receives one genetic marker copy of each gene, called an allele, from each parent. Therefore,
CONTINUE READING ON PAGE 14
